Claire Corkram is a Careers and Employability Consultant (Learning and Teaching) for The Open University, who supports the Open Programme team. She joined the OU in July 2018 from Northampton University and has also been a distance learning student. Studying a Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance & Development.
So, what exactly does a Careers and Employability Consultant (Learning and Teaching) do and how do I support the Open programme? My role is a hybrid one where I provide specialist careers guidance and development to faculty staff and students. Fundamentally, my role is to support my colleagues in faculty with the integration and embedding of careers support into the curriculum by developing and implementing a range of career services which support student employability. It’s a busy, varied role which I really enjoy, and no two days are the same!
The way I support the Open programme is multi-faceted and my work can include writing career copy for the Subject Sites (sometimes referred to as Qualification Sites as well). If you are a student you can take a look at the Open Qualification sites here:
- Plan your career webpage-BA/BSc Open Open Subject/Qual site
- Plan your career webpage- MA/MSc Open Subject/Qual site
I also produce and record career webinars for students, organising and running career forums, providing advice and guidance on career related queries. (If you are an OU student you will be able follow these links at review these pages)
Recently I also led on producing two Podcasts/Recorded Conversation for the Open degree (BA/BSc) and the Open masters (MA/MSc Open) to highlight the employability benefits students gain by studying these qualifications that they can take out into the now very turbulent employment market. Why not take a listen to these short and snappy podcasts
I will be honest and say that although I have worked within the careers sphere for a long time I have never organised or been part of a Podcast / recording before, so this was a whole new learning experience for me. Thankfully though I am fortunate to work alongside some great colleagues within the Open faculty and as much as we may not like looking at ourselves on screen (!) we had fun producing these valuable resources for you. Hopefully, you will hear that when you listen to them.
The reason we felt it was important to produce these resources for you is that we recognise that it is a massive time of change for everyone with the impact of Covid19 changing how we and our employers now work, and if we are honest it will probably keep changing for a while.
More than ever employers are looking for great talent to work for them who can adapt and flex their approach to work to be able to progress in these turbulent times. All of us who work on the Open and Open Masters programmes are passionate about the skills and attributes that you gain through multi-discipline study and we wanted to highlight to you what you have to offer from an employability perspective when studying these qualifications that you can use when promoting yourself in this new world of work.
Within The Careers and Employability Services we will also use them in our Employer Engagement work to showcase to employers the huge benefits they gain when employing a student who has graduated with an Open or Open Masters degree from the OU.
The conversations are centred around the benefits that you will gain and be able to take to an employer if you are looking to change your career or advance in your career. They highlight the fundamental skills you gain in terms of employability:
- team working,
- problem solving,
- effective communication etc.
and the benefits you have to offer as a graduate from studying Open qualifications.
Critically, though the conversations focus on the employability skills that you will develop through your study that employers are now looking for including although not exclusive to:
- adaptability – you are studying multi subjects
- critical thinking – you are studying complex issues
- resilience – you are choosing your own study route and showing a desire to learn different subject areas
All advanced skills in terms of leadership and strategic thinking.
Our overall aim was to pull-out what employability skills you will gain that will make YOU stand out from the crowd.
Additional to the podcast / recorded conversations we hosted a student support session. This gave those of us involved in the recordings, faculty colleagues and students the opportunity to discuss the huge benefits of Open study and what you as a student can gain and use in the wider world.
For me as a careers consultant recognising all the skills, knowledge, and attributes you are learning and developing through your Open studies is key and I encourage you to promote these as much as possible now in your careers.
There is increasing research on the benefits of interdisciplinary study for individuals and employers with students who study this way being:
- more open minded
- inquisitive
- having greater ability to manage complex global issues
all of which support organisations and their success.
Cross-disciplinary solutions are increasingly being recognised as a way to address key global challenges, as highlighted in the UK government’s research exploring the Future of Work and how jobs, and the skills needed in the workplace, will change by 2030 (UKCES, 2014).
We in careers have had a term for that for a while, Portfolio. Portfolio careers are a thing! Not many of us have one job for life now, many of us have a portfolio of jobs and much like multi-disciplinary study it’s being able to join the dots as you transfer your skills, knowledge, and experience from one career to another. Being a graduate of multi-disciplinary study, you are at an advantage due to being able to demonstrate to employers that you can ebb and flow into new ways of working and can prove it through the study you have done.
Most graduate employers from most sectors put value on a degree – but not the subject studied. The 2019 Institute of Student Employers’ “Inside Student Recruitment” report showed the percentage of graduate recruiters not looking for a qualification in a particular subject had risen to 86%.
I do hope the podcasts / recordings prove beneficial to our students and as I write this blog post it has helped demonstrate to me that studying an Open qualification has huge benefits from an employability perspective; especially now.
If you would like to know more about The Careers and Employability Service and how we support you as a student please do look at our webpage Careers and Employability | Help Centre | The Open University